Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Knight-Swift hit a new 52-week high after Benchmark raised its price target to $70 (from $65) and kept a buy rating; shares traded as high as $65.27 and last around $64.27 on the move.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive—one Strong Buy, fifteen Buys, three Holds and one Sell—resulting in a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $62.11, though individual targets range as high as $75 (Barclays).
• Insiders have been net sellers (42,930 shares sold, ~$2.58M last quarter) even as the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (1.2% yield) and issued Q1 guidance of $0.28–$0.32 EPS after a slight quarterly earnings miss.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $70.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Knight-Swift Transportation traded as high as $65.27 and last traded at $64.2650, with a volume of 383588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.56.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on KNX. Citigroup raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore raised Knight-Swift Transportation from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total value of $324,074.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $477,375.32. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $75,661.41. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,930 shares of company stock worth $2,581,186. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,918,523 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $675,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468,293 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,496,137 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $335,682,000 after purchasing an additional 76,342 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,397,338 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $439,016,000 after acquiring an additional 129,651 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,676,422 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $244,250,000 after acquiring an additional 315,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,939,212 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $153,662,000 after acquiring an additional 984,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 4.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.52. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 157.17, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.11.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.12%.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc NYSE: KNX is one of North America's largest asset-based truckload carriers, offering a wide range of transportation and logistics services. The company was formed in 2017 through the merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation, each with decades of experience in long-haul dry van and refrigerated freight. Since the merger, Knight-Swift has pursued a growth strategy that includes fleet expansions, targeted acquisitions, and investments in technology to enhance service reliability and network efficiency.

The company's core business activities include full truckload operations for dry van, temperature-controlled and flatbed shipments.

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